MORE than a hundred schools were closed, roads blocked and hospital appointments cancelled as heavy snow brought chaos to North Wales yesterday.

Hit by near white-out conditions the worst hit areas were Anglesey, Gwynedd and Conwy. Fleets of council gritters and snowploughs battled to keep roads open, but even the A55 dual carriageway was reduced to one lane in parts.

Overnight snow was followed by more heavy falls throughout the morning, dumping more than six inches in parts of north west Wales.

Last night the Met Office warned of more heavy snow, particularly in Mid Wales, with temperatures falling to as low as -4C.

"Further snow showers are likely in many places with a risk of more organised bands of snow moving southwards across all areas at times. Motorists face the risk of very icy roads," said a spokesman.

Police warned of treacherous conditions on the region's roads as temperatures dipped towards freezing last night.

Many roads were closed yesterday - some by "numerous" minor accidents and abandoned vehicles.

Eighty of Gwynedd's 120 schools closed along with a further 28 on Anglesey - mainly in the south and east of the island.

Thirty-nine schools closed in Conwy, and 11 in Denbighshire.

Coleg Menai, which has its main sites in Bangor and Llangefni, was also shut.

Commuters were caught up in huge gridlocks as traffic slid and slipped to a halt despite local authority gritters working round-the-clock to keep roads open.

The situation in Gwynedd was officially described as "poor".

"Our advice during the day to motorists was to avoid non-essential travelling," said a spokeswoman at Gwynedd County Council.

She added: "We had 25 gritting machines out overnight from Wednesday and the priority was to keep the main roads open, then to try to grit town centres, and later the lesser roads if the situation permitted.

"The main roads had to be the priority. With 1,800 miles of roads in the county, the overall task is enormous."

The Felinheli by-pass between Caernarfon and Bangor was closed for a while.

One motorist said: "It was chaotic the traffic was at a standstill on the road. I tried to take a diversion by going through Felinheli itself but it wasn't a very clever move on my part.

"It was just as bad. Normally I can get from home to work in 15 minutes. This morning it took me over 90 minutes."

Conditions on the A55 west of Conwy, as far as the Britannia road crossing of the Menai Strait and on into Anglesey caused major problems for travellers, with sections of the expressway down to one lane.

Staff working at the council's headquarters in Anglesey were sent home at lunchtime, while leisure centres and some libraries on the island closed at noon. Refuse collections as well as recycling and skip services were suspended for the day.

Outpatient clinics at two hospitals, Ysbyty Gwynedd, Bangor, and Llandudno, were cancelled and home carers in Anglesey had to use a four-wheel drive vehicle to deliver hot meals to the elderly in Menai Bridge, Llandegfan and Llanfairpwll.

North West Wales NHS Trust spokesman said they had no choice but to cancel outpatient appointments.

He said: "A big problem for us was staff, particularly those living in Anglesey, which is only rarely affected by snow, who just couldn't get into work this morning. We were also concerned for the welfare of patients who may have tried to get here. For those who did turn up we tried to keep their appointments but inevitably it did depend on the availability of staff."

The spokesman added: "Most outpatient clinics scheduled for Friday at both Ysbyty Gwynedd and Llandudno are currently planned to go ahead, but there will be a small reduction, and those patients will be contacted individually wherever possible."

Mid-Wales was also badly affected with Aberystwyth gridlocked after people abandoned their cars on Penglais Hill.

Police dealt with a crop of minor accidents in Ceredigion including an ambulance overturning at Llanarth, five miles from Aberaeron.

Out and about this weekend? Check it out out the latest weather conditions on the A55 by clicking here